


Yellow Tulips and White Daisies

by buoyantsaturn



Series: Yellow Tulips and White Daisies [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alive Bianca, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Angst, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, So much angst, florist nico, so that last one was all fluff right, this one isnt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 07:50:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11203617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buoyantsaturn/pseuds/buoyantsaturn
Summary: Honestly, Will had forgotten about his application.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ive experienced so much angst in the last 20 minutes and pals this is only 25% of what i just experienced ok so i hope u enjoy

Honestly, Will had forgotten about his application.

To be fair, he’d been a little distracted by his near daily visits to a nearby flower shop.

On this day in particular, Will hadn’t had the time to visit the shop, due to a late afternoon class, so Nico had spent the entire duration of Will’s walk home telling him about this girl that had come into the shop that day that had flirted with Bianca for a least fifteen minutes. Will had listened intently as he entered his apartment building, collecting his mail from the lobby before heading upstairs.

Nico was nearing the end of his story when WIll opened the one piece of mail that wasn’t a bill of some kind. He breathed an almost inaudible, “Holy shit,” into the receiver, enough to make Nico stop in his retelling. 

“What?” Nico asked as Will read over the letter in his hand.

“I--” Will stopped himself. He put the letter down and turned his back to it, unable to speak when he was looking at it. “Can you come over? Or I’ll come to you?”

Nico took a second to respond. When he did, his voice was cautious and small. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Will said quickly, then continued, “At least, I hope not. I just-- There’s something I need to talk to you about in person.”

“Okay,” Nico said quietly. “I’ll come to you.”

 

When Nico showed up at his door, he was empty handed, and Will felt his heart begin to sink a little. Any time Will had invited him over in the past, Nico had always had some kind of bag with him, always containing a change of clothes, in case he happened to spend the night (he always did).

Will let him in, and they sat together on the couch. Will didn’t miss the small amount of space between them. He unfolded the letter in his hand, and refolded it. He didn’t look at Nico.

“A while ago,” he started, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, “I applied for this internship-exchange-thing. I would get to intern at a hospital for a semester, and take about half as many classes as I would normally have to for that semester.”

“That sounds...great, Will,” Nico said softly. “Why do you sound like that’s not great?”

Will fell back against the couch cushions, letter once again open in his hands. He felt Nico leaning closer, peering over at the letter.

“Oh,” Nico whispered, leaning away, further away than he had been. 

“I didn’t--” Will’s hands flew up to his face. “I applied for this  _ so long ago, _  Nico, and I didn’t even think I would get it.”

“When?” Nico asked.

“What?” Will turned his head to look at him, hands falling to his lap. 

It was Nico that kept his eyes trained downward, now. “When did you apply?”

Will turned his whole body on the couch, hands reaching for Nico’s where they rested in his lap. “ _ Months  _ ago, Nico, I--” He took a breath. “You know I don’t have any family here or anything, I only moved here for school, so when I applied, it didn’t matter if I was moving around so much. But now--”

Nico looked up at him through his lashes. “Now?”

Will reached a hand up, brushing his thumb against Nico’s cheek. “Now there’s you.”

Nico’s eyes widened, head snapping up. “No, Will, no,” Nico started, covering Will’s hand on his cheek with his own. “You can’t stay here just because of me, you can’t pass this up because of some, some-- Fling!”

Will felt the word like a punch to his chest, lungs expelling his breath as his hands slipped out of Nico’s. “F-Fling?”

“No!” Nico reached for Will, but hesitated, leaving his hand hovering in the air between them. “Not a fling, I didn’t mean that. I meant-- We’ve only  _ known _ each other for three months, Will, and if you choose me over this, you’ll-- You couldn’t stand it, I know that. I don’t want you to regret something this big because of me.”

“I wouldn’t regret--”

“You  _ would," _  Nico insisted. “I know you well enough to know that, Will. You  _ have  _ to go.”

“Oh,” Will whispered, pulling his feet up onto the couch and wrapping his arms around his knees. “I don’t wanna break up with you, though.”

“I don’t either,” Nico replied softly. 

Will paused. “I don’t know what to do, now.”

Nico scooted himself closer, pulling at Will’s arms and legs until he was able to kneel between Will’s legs and press their foreheads together. “Now, we eat some dinner and watch some TV, and then we go from there.”

 

They didn’t talk about it for the rest of the night. They ordered pizza, found some movie on Netflix, and Nico borrowed some clothes to sleep in. They cuddled close in Will’s bed, and Nico fell asleep with his nose pressed into the dip between Will’s collarbones. Will’s mind refused to slow down at let him sleep for another few hours.

He woke again after only about four hours of sleep, arms still wrapped around his-- Around Nico. Will didn’t know what they were, anymore.

Will ran his hand along Nico’s spine. “Nico, darling, wake up,” he said, just above a whisper. 

Nico hummed, trying to burrow himself into Will’s chest, it seemed, until he finally drew his face back enough that his tired eyes met Will’s. “I don’t talk to Sunshines until the sun is up,” he mumbled. 

“Do you mean to say there’s more than one Sunshine?” Will asked jokingly. 

Nico’s eyes slipped shut as one of his hands tugged at the pillow under Will’s head. “You’re my only Sunshine,” he answered. “Why did you wake me up?”

Will slid his hand up Nico’s back, over his shoulder, and brushed his fingers across Nico’s cheek and into his hair. “Come with me.”

“It’s too early to go anywhere.”

“To New York,” Will tried again. “You’ve got friends there, right? And we won’t have to break up, and we’ll see each other every day.”

Nico rubbed at his eyes. He pushed himself back again, so he could look Will in the eyes. He wrapped a hand in the front of Will’s t-shirt. “I can’t,” Nico said. “I can’t leave Bianca alone with the shop, and I only see Hazel every so often already. I want to, Will, I wanna see you all the time, but I can’t.”

Will nodded, eyes sad. “I understand.”

 

Bianca found her brother in the staff room when he was supposed to be manning the register. He was sitting on the ground in the corner furthest from the door, slouching down a little so he could fit comfortably underneath a shelf. 

“Neeks, you’re on the clock,” Bianca reminded him from the doorway. “Why’re you moping in the corner?”

Nico tipped his head up enough for Bianca to see tears glistening on his cheeks. “Will’s  _ l-leaving." _

“He  _ broke up _ with you?” Bianca demanded, stepping into the room and letting the door fall shut behind her. 

Nico shook his head, arms tightening their hold around his knees. “No,  _ no, _  we can’t break up, he’s gonna come back.”

“Nico, you gotta use your words,” Bianca told him, kneeling a few feet in front of him.

“He’s leaving, Bia,” Nico sobbed, “for  _ five months. _  I don’t want him to leave. I can’t break up with him, Bia, I can’t!”

“So don’t,” Bianca answered, calmly. “Deep breaths, Nico, settle down. He’s leaving, but he’s gonna come back, right? That’s what you said? So don’t break up. You’ll just have to figure out a good way to handle the distance.”

Nico’s breathing started to even out. His tears had slowed, and his arms loosened from around his legs. “D-Do you think that’ll w-work?”

Bianca shrugged. “You’ll just have to try and find out.”

Nico sniffed. “Thanks, Bia.”

 

Due to a slight change of schedule, Will had to leave about two weeks later. They’d ended up putting most of his things in storage, since he couldn’t afford to keep his apartment while he was away, and the rest of his things were either shipped ahead or loaded onto the same plane he was about to board to New York.

“Five months isn’t that long,” Will said, forehead pressed against Nico’s and fingers twisted into the belt loops on Nico’s jeans. “And New York’s not  _ that _ far away.”

“It’s the opposite side of the country, Will,” Nico said with a sad little laugh. “But you’re gonna call me when you land, and when you’re all moved in, and you’re gonna tell me about your orientation or whatever.”

“Of course,” Will said. “I’ll call every chance I get, and if I can’t, then I’ll text you, and we can video chat, and I’ll send you my schedule as soon as I get it.”

“Don’t worry about the time change, either, okay?” Nico told him. “Call me whenever you can, even if you think I’m sleeping, or working, or  _ whatever, _  call me.”

“I will,” he promised. Will dipped his head down, pressing his lips to Nico’s softly, about to pull back when Nico grabbed his head and held him close. He only pulled back when they were both fighting for breath. “My plane’s gonna start boarding soon,” Will whispered.

Nico nodded, not releasing his grip on Will’s hair. “I’m gonna miss you,” Nico told him, pulling him in to peck at his lips. “I’m gonna miss you  _ so much." _

“You’re not gonna get a chance to miss me, okay?” Will said, tugging at Nico’s hips. “‘Cause we’re still gonna talk all the time, it’ll be like I never left. We’re gonna get the highest snap streak  _ ever _ because of how much we talk to each other.”

“Oh my  _ god, _ just get on your plane already,” Nico groaned, dropping his hands to Will’s shoulders and giving a light shove. 

Will laughed as he pulled Nico in for one more kiss. “Nico, I--” his voice cut out before he could finish his sentence.

“Tell me when you come back, Sunshine,” Nico whispered. “Tell me then, and I’ll say it back.”

“I’ll see you soon, darling,” Will told him, finally unwinding his fingers from Nico’s belt loops, and Nico’s hands fell from his shoulders.

“Goodbye, Sunshine.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so i posted this a lot sooner than i was planning but like here it is enjoy

Their snap streak had reached one hundred and forty days. Will’s phone plan had run out of minutes for both texting and calling, and he was close to the end of his monthly data limit. They relied pretty heavily on Skype calls that lasted, usually, about four hours a night. 

Before the end of the first month, Nico had received a package in the mail: a box containing his baggiest sweatshirt and a handwritten note.  _ Looks like I took one of your sweatshirts by accident, I figured you might want it back. I’ll see you soon. _

Will always said that,  _ I’ll see you soon. _ At the end of every call, every video chat, when they would text until one of them fell asleep and Nico would see the message when he woke up the next morning. It was always there, and Nico found comfort in it. They’d see each other soon.

Nico sent another package back to him the next day. He’d worn that sweatshirt to bed the night before, hoping that it would still smell of him when it reached New York once again. He also added a daisy to the box, knowing that it probably wouldn’t survive the trip, but he wanted to remind Will of how much he cared for him. Lastly, he placed his own hand written note on top of the sweatshirt and daisy: _ You probably need it now more than I do sunshine. call me when you get this. _

He sealed the box, setting it by the front door so he would remember to send it when he left for the shop later that day. Nico took the note that Will had written in and went to his room, pulling out a bright orange sweatshirt that he may have taken from one of Will’s suitcases before he left. He pulled on the sweatshirt, opened up snapchat on his phone, and held up Will’s note for the picture. _ It's still pretty warm here but I've got a new favorite sweatshirt anyway. _

After that, any time one of them sent a package to the other, there was a withered flower inside. It wasn’t often that this happened, but by their one hundred fortieth day, both Will and Nico had a small collection of daisies and yellow tulips. 

 

Nico had been spending most of his time over the last five months at the flower shop, trying to keep his mind as occupied as possible, trying to think about the work instead of the text Will had sent him saying,  _ I have to stay for two more weeks to finish a few things up, I’m sorry, darling. I’ll see you soon. _

So Nico had tried not to pout too much, but then the shop received an order on their website for a rather pricey bouquet that really hadn’t been the easiest to put together, due to both the time of year and the wide variety of flowers demanded.

Before he began gathering the flowers, Nico pulled out tissue paper to wrap the flowers in: one piece for every color of the rainbow, as requested. Gathering all of the flowers in both the right color and the perfect amount took just about two hours, but the bouquet wasn’t supposed to be delivered until the next day (and since when did they do deliveries, anyway?).

So Nico collected the flowers and arranged them in the paper: On the outside, red chrysanthemums, pink ambrosia, and red tulips. In the middle of the bouquet were yellow tulips, red roses, and white daisies. As requested, in the very center of the arrangement was - the hardest flower to find for the time of year - a single sprig of mistletoe.

As Nico put the finishing touches on the bouquet, he began to envy whoever he’d be delivering this arrangement to the next day. The recipient must’ve gotten to see their loved one all the time, and they probably had a beautiful relationship, going by the flowers they’d be receiving. So many different ways of expressing love and affection, and Nico hadn’t even gotten to  _ see _ his boyfriend in five months. 

He set the bouquet in the fridge so it would hold overnight, and started to lock up the shop.

 

He’d slept terribly that night. On top of Will being gone for another two weeks and the terrible feeling he got as he arranged that bouquet, Will hadn’t been able to talk to him that night. Nico guessed his phone must’ve died, because he would call and it would go straight to voicemail. He wasn’t online to video chat, either.

So Nico hardly slept. In the morning, he felt even worse, and considered telling Bianca that she would have to manage by herself that day, at least until the afternoon. He didn’t, though, because he knew how terrible it was to run the shop by yourself, and someone would have to make that delivery before eleven that morning. At least, that’s what Nico thought the delivery time said. He hadn’t checked for AM or PM, but he figured that an eleven PM delivery was a little ridiculous.

He got dressed and him and Bianca went to work. Bianca took a call on her cell phone while she was on the clock, which Nico thought was pretty strange, but didn’t question it. And a little while later, she told him that the delivery needed to be made later in the day, around four, maybe. She continued with, “You can leave at three-thirty, probably, and then after the delivery you can just go home. You seem a little distracted today, anyway.”

“I’m fine,” he grumbled, but pulled out his phone to set an alarm for himself: Delivery; 3:30PM, and attached the address.

The day had passed slowly, and Nico couldn’t wait to make the delivery and leave. He just wanted to go home and talk to his boyfriend, but given the last two days, he figured that that was going to be pretty unlikely anyway.

So he collected the delivery from the fridge when his alarm went off, double checked that he had the right address, and headed out for the night. 

The building that Nico’s GPS brought him to was the one that Will used to live in, and Nico’s heart ached. Just another reminder that he didn’t want right then. 

The apartment was two floors higher than Will’s, three or four doors further down the hall. The door looked the same as every other door in the building, just with a different number than the rest.

Nico knocked, and waited. He shouted, “Flower delivery,” through the door after a few seconds, and the door swung open. 

Before him was a man, tall and tan and blond and freckled, and Nico’s heart stopped.

“Will,” he breathed, flowers almost falling out of his hand.

“Hi, darling,” Will said from the other side of the doorway, a soft, wide smile gracing his lips and matching the look in his eyes. 

Before either of them knew what was happening, Nico had jumped into Will’s arms, knocking the two of them back into the apartment, one of them somehow managing to close the door before they moved away.

Nico had his arms wrapped around Will’s neck, legs circling his waist, and Will supported him with one hand on his lower back, and the other on the space where Nico’s butt met his upper-thigh.

“Holy shit,” Nico whispered, breathing in as deep as he could while he face was pressed into Will’s neck. “Will, shit, I missed you  _ so much." _

“I missed you, too, darling,” Will told him. 

Nico pulled back far enough that he could look into Will’s eyes, like if he looked away or closed his eyes, he’d find out that all of this had been a dream, so he stared. Their noses brushed whenever either of them breathed. “You’re stronger,” Nico commented.

“I guess so,” Will said.

“You have a flower delivery.”

Will beamed, tilting his head up to stare at Nico full-on. “I do.”

“Who are the flowers from?” Nico asked defensively.

“Me,” Will told him, and Nico gave him a confused look.

“Then who are they  _ for?" _

Will brought up the hand that was supporting Nico’s back, and held his palm against Nico’s cheek. “They’re for  _ you, _  idiot. I picked them out special and everything.”

“You--” Nico stared in awe. “But this is-- Will, it’s  _ expensive, _  you could barely afford your rent last time you were in this building.”

“I’ve got it handled,” Will told him calmly.

“You got me flowers,” Nico whispered, eyes flicking over to the flowers he still held in one hand behind Will’s head - the roses, the tulips, the mistletoe.

He darted his eyes back to Will’s, immediately surging forward and kissing him hungrily. “I love you, Will,” he breathed between kisses. “I love you  _ so much." _

“Wasn’t I supposed to say that first?” Will asked, and Nico hit him in the back of the head with the flowers. “Hey, watch it, I could drop you if I wanted.”

“You wouldn’t,” Nico said confidently. “You love me too much.”

“That’s right.” Will’s smile was almost blinding, but Nico didn’t mind it at all. Will spun around, and Nico’s grip tightened at the sudden movement. They moved in the direction of Will’s bedroom, where Will dropped his boyfriend down onto the mattress, landing almost completely on top of him. 

“I’m still curious about your plan for paying your rent after buying me so many roses, and  _ mistletoe _ in _May,"_  Nico told him, dropping the bouquet onto the mattress beside them.

“Well, I’ve got a backup plan in case my go-to doesn’t pan out, but I think it’ll be fine,” Will mumbled into the side of Nico’s neck. He moved so that his head was hovering directly over Nico’s, eyes locked. “I figure, I’m here for good, as far as I can tell, and the flower shop’s not that far away, and rent’s always easier when there’s more than one person paying the bills.”

“Sunshine, are you trying to  _ use _ me for my money?” Nico asked, tugging lightly at the hair at the back of Will’s neck.

“I’m using you for love and affection while also hopefully returning the favor,” Will corrected. “But, yeah, I could use you for your money too.”

“What’s your backup plan?” Nico asked, but Will could tell that he was thinking it over in his head.

“Move in with you and Bianca,” Will answered seriously, and Nico’s eyes widened. “I’m kidding, I’d just have to get another part time job somewhere, so I wouldn’t have very much free time anymore.”

“I feel like you're trying to guilt me into something, here,” Nico said, feigning suspicion. 

“Not at all, just your boyfriend letting you know that your options are live with him and see him all the time, or live apart and maybe never see him again.”

Nico’s eyes narrowed. “Just one thing, before I give my answer.”

“Of course,” Will said.

“You never held up your end of the deal from the airport.”

Will beamed, leaning down until their noses and lips were brushing. “Nico di Angelo, I love you. I love you with your legs wrapped around me--” his fingers squeezed where they still held his thigh, “--and I love you with flowers in your hair and when you try to put them in mine. And I love you  _ everywhere _ in between.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Well, shit, I guess I have to move in with you, now.”

“I knew you couldn’t resist.” Will pressed their lips together.

 

In the morning, Nico made them both crowns out of the bouquet, made with love in so many more ways than one. He also hung the mistletoe in the doorway to the bedroom, and Will loved him even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope that was a good end to all the angst  
> thanks for reading!!

**Author's Note:**

> if anyone wants to suffer with me go to my tumblr and read the bridge to terabithia au headcanons i just wrote bc im dying scoob  
> anyway thanks for reading idk when i'll post the second chapter probably in a few days i wont make u suffer too long except i might idk sorry


End file.
